While we really can’t expect much from politicians in the short term, the NRTEE report has done an important service for the climate policy debate…refocused the national debate from one of questioning affordability (what I call Globe and Mail climate policy) to one also focused on the risks of inaction — both economic and environmental.

And speaking of risk, no news service highlighted the benefits of reduced air pollutants with climate policy. These are real and local and well NRTEE did not have enough time or space to explore these. But, check out the report, the reductions in air pollutants are large and so too then are the associated health benefits- which occur immediately and within Canada.

So by continuing to oppose efficient policies, politicians are not just thumbing their nose at getting things done cheaply, they are also thumbing their nose at clean air and oh yes, that little thing called climate stability.